HERE IS A BIT OF INTERACTIVE TITILLATING …. “TONGUE IN CHEEK” INSIGHT INTO SOME OF OUR INTRIGUING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING TOOLS OF THE TRADE USED ON LADIES SUFFERING FROM HYSTERIA DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA THAT ARE ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL … IN AND AMONGST OUR VERY CLUTTERED, DIVERSE CURIOSITIES AND OTHER COLLECTIONS
Are these power tools? Medieval torture devices? Ancient hairdryers? Vintage egg whisks? No, they are Victorian, er, personal massagers (including one you had to handcrank)
Late 19th, early 20th century self-vibrators on display in Gloucestershire
Were originally created by Victorian doctors to cure women of hysteria
Female patients were treated with ‘pelvic massage’ using plug-in vibrators
On display at Littledean Jail, former courthouse, in the Forest of Dean
PUBLISHED: 14:18, 26 September 2013 | UPDATED: 18:44, 26 September 2013
Take a look at these pictures and consider for a moment what these rather brutal looking metal contraptions might be.
Are they power tools? Medieval torture devices? The world’s first hairdryers? Archaic egg whisks? Nope, these are actually Victorian vibrators, a collection of vintage self-massagers currently on display at Littledean Jail in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, a former house of correction, police station and courthouse-turned-visitor attraction.
And exhibits include Dr Macaura’s Pulsocon Hand Crank Vibrator, which dates back to 1890 and resembles an old-fashioned egg whisk.
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This may look like an early hair dryer with different attachments, but it is actually a vintage ‘self-massager’, used by women as a vibrator in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
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Dr. Macaura’s Pulsocon Hand Crank (1890) Vibrator, which resembles an archaic egg whisk, is now on display at Littledean Jail, Forest of Dean,
According to Philip Larkin, sex began in 1963, between the end of the Lady Chatterley ban and the Beatles’ first LP.
But this collection of Victorian vibrators shows self-pleasuring has been going on for a whole lot longer than that.
Littledean Jail owner and curator Andy Jones, 51, described the assortment of sex toys as ‘a fascinating insight into women’s pleasure during Victorian times’.
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The ‘ACME’ hand-held vibrator shows self-pleasuring has been going on for a whole lot longer than we originally believed
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When compared to today’s vibrators such as the pink plastic rampant rabbit, the ACME is certainly a lot less… girly
But despite its pleasurable connotations, the modern-style vibrator was actually invented by respectable Victorian doctors.
‘Pelvic massage’ was a common treatment for female hysteria during the Victorian era.
However, doctors found the process of administering the massage by hand tiring and time-consuming, and so devised a device to do the job for them.
Dr Joseph Mortimer Granville patented an electromechanical vibrator around 1880, a story told in the 2011 film Hysteria, featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal.
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Despite its pleasurable connotations, the modern-style vibrator was actually invented by respectable Victorian doctors
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‘If you plug them in, the force is incredible. They’re loud and some of them look like hairdryers’
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The vibrators come packed neatly in cases with a number of different attachments, and resembles an old-fashioned drill and its bits
While some of these contraptions now look like they belong more in a torture chamber than beneath the sheets, they serve as testament to the ingenuity of Victorian inventors.
The sex toys also offer a fascinating insight into the supposedly ‘prim and proper’ Victorian world, in which some families would supposedly cover up table legs since they were seen as suggestive and risque.
‘If you plug them in, the force is incredible,’ Jones said. ‘They’re loud and some of them look like hairdryers.
‘I would imagine it would have been quite a painful exercise, judging by what I’ve seen of them, like having a kango hammer pressed against your body.’
Built in 1791… Littledean Jail was a former House of Correction, Court House, Police Station and is now home to The Crime Through Time Collection .
HERE IS A BRIEF INTERACTIVE, HOPEFULLY EDUCATIONAL VIDEO AND PICTORIAL INSIGHT INTO SOME OF THE VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY TREATMENT (ECT) .. USED ON PATIENTS HOUSED IN LUNATIC AND MENTAL ASYLUMS . BOTH HERE IN THE UK AND WORLDWIDE FROM THE VICTORIAN ERA THROUGH TO THE 1960’S . ALL OF WHICH WE FEATURE HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL .
ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER BODY BELT COMPLETE WITH WRIST RESTRAINTS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UKKK
ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER BODY BELT COMPLETE WITH WRIST RESTRAINTS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK
ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER BODY BELT COMPLETE WITH WRIST RESTRAINTS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK
ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER RESTRAINT STRAPS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK
ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER RESTRAINT STRAPS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK
ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER RESTRAINT STRAPS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK
ABOVE IS A VERY RARE “GLOUCESTER MENTAL HOSPITAL ” – METROPOLITAN WHISTLE DATING BACK TO THE EARLY 1920’S AS WAS USED BY THE CHIEF WARDEN IN THE INFAMOUS HORTON ROAD MENTAL ASYLUM , GLOUCESTER . USED PRIMARILY AS A FORM OF ALARM … PARTICULARLY SHOULD THEIR BE CAUSE FOR CONCERN WITH THE PATIENTS .
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The History of the Asylum
This section has been written to ammend the previous history pages of the Asylum, which were in desperately in need of replacing. The Victorian Asylum is a system that has long gone and it is doubtful that such a system will exist again. This section is dedicated to a building system that is now defunct and disappearing fast, planning mix ups and the will of the establishment to abolish the system have prevailed. We don’t hope to cover everything, or answer all your questions. But this should hopefully answer a few questions you may have. Please note, any phrases used within this page is used within its historical context.
How did the Asylums come about?
The first recorded Lunatic Asylum in Europe was the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, it has been a part of London since 1247 when it was built as a priory. It became a hospital in 1330 and admitted its first mentally ill patients in 1407. Before the Madhouse Act of 1774, treatment of the Insane was carried out by non-licensed practitioners, who ran their “Madhouses” as a commercial enterprise and with little regard for the inmates. The Mad House act established the licensing required to house insane patients, with yearly inspections of the premises taking place. In 1792, the York Retreat was set up by William Tuke. This was the first establishment in the UK to treat their patients as human beings and offer a therapeutic setting for them. Mechanical restraints were discontinued and work and leisure became the main treatment. In 1808, the County Asylum Act was passed, which allowed counties to levy a rate in order to fund the building of County Asylums. The intention was to remove the insane from within the Work Houses and provide them with more a sufficient and dedicated care system. However, due to the Act deficiencies, only 20 County Asylums were built around the country.
How did the mass construction come about?
Due to deficiencies of the 1808 Act, counties did not begin mass construction of Asylums throughout the country. It was not until the passing of the County Asylum / Lunacy Act in 1845 did the construction begin to take hold. Due to a change in the law, Counties were legally obliged to provide Asylum for their Lunatics. This Act, based on the work of John Conolly and Lord Shaftsbury saw the lunatics being treated as Patients and not prisoners. It also took into account the moral treatment pioneered by William Tuke and saw the care of the lunatics being funded by the individual County. During this time, the Asylums become vastly overcrowded and rapid expansion of the ensued. Between the passing of the act and 1890, when the next act was passed, over 60 Asylums were built and opened (A further 40 were opened after this date).
What was it like for the Patients?
Without a time machine, it is hard to say! In all honesty, it varied depending on which era you looked at, conditions were ever changing. The most notable condition for the patients was the segregation of the sexes. It was not until the early 20th century that the sexes were allowed to mix, albeit they still slept in same sex wards. Patients lived within the confines of the hospital, privacy was minimal. Wards were able to house up to 50 patients, in very close proximity and little personal space. The daily regime was strictly regimented, with little room for variation and often under the watchful eye of staff. During the early years of the Asylums, wards were locked and security was kept high as attendants were fined for every patient that escaped on their watch. As the years passed, this was more relaxed, and by the time the asylums were coming to a close, patients were allowed much more freedom and were actively encouraged to leave the hospital and visit the local towns. Throughout the entire life of the Asylum system, patients were encouraged to work and undertake recreation. Local artisans were employed to teach skills and aid in the production of goods that were sold and used to fund social events. Sports teams were formed, and inter-hospital rivalries were formed. The able bodied were put to work around the hospital grounds, males running the farms and traditional male activities, and the females the laundry and kitchens. The sick and infirm patients were housed in their own wards and will have spent the majority of their time there. Angry, violent or suicidal patients were housed within the wards, and on occasions, locked within a padded cell. Seclusion rooms were also employed, but these were mainly used for patients who would disturb others during the night, in latter years they were sued for patients as a reward so that they could have some privacy.
What was the Work and Recreation?
Work and Recreation was central to life within the Asylum. Sport was made available to the patients, but walking within the grounds and woodlands was the most widely available. This started out as being heavily supervised walks, but as time passed, it was realised that other activities such as art, music and dancing were beneficial. The social activities of the hospital progressed with those of society as a whole, and holidays and interaction with outsiders was encouraged, helping to rehabilitate them. Sports became more prevalent as time passed, and many different teams were formed. The Farm was the main centre of employment for the male patients, where they grew food stuff for the hospitals consumption. The farms proved to be one of the most profitable activities the patients undertook, but with the advent of the NHS the farms began to close and the land sold off. The kitchens were also a great source of employment, with food grown and produced by the patients being served. Patients were also employed in the distribution of the dinners, and each patient undertook that task every day. So one patient would make porridge for the entire hospital, everyday! The Laundry was the largest female employer within the Asylums. Clothing and bedding were sorted in the wards, booked out and transported to the laundry for washing. Patients who worked in the laundry were normally housed within the Laundry Ward. There was also various other work departments around the buildings, dealing with trades such as shoe repair, printing, clothing repairs, the libraries and various aspects of the engineering departments. It was known for patients to be paid for the work.
How was it different for the sexes?
The Females
According to case notes, most women came in for short periods only simply to recover from the stress and exhaustion of their domestic lives – once rested and relaxed they were sent on their way. Women were also admitted from problematic marriages or as a result of giving birth to illegitimate children – even if a result of rape. Post natal depression was also a common reason for a women admittance. The females wards differed vastly from the male wards; they were based around Victorian ideals of femininity with little opportunity for them to go outside and even fewer opportunities to play games. It was only later that this changed. As with the tradition at the time the women’s activities were confined to the indoors, which led to a strong bond being formed between both female patients and staff. The women were put to work throughout the asylum, mainly undertaking jobs in the needle room, the laundry and general housekeeping duties around the ward – the latter was kept for problematic patients. The daily routine of the ward remained unchanged for many many years, patients would rise at 7am for breakfast which would consist of coffee, tea or cocoa with porridge and bread as the main. After breakfast the ‘good’ patients would have been taken to there respective jobs in the laundry or needle room – the others would have waited around until the airing courts were opened later in the morning. Lunch would have been served at around 12:30 and would have consisted of food produced on the local farm; this was the main meal of the day. The airing courts were then opened up again in the middle of the afternoon for just over an hour. Tea was served in the early evening and was known to consist of bread and cake. Due to staff shortages on the female side of the hospitals, nurses were known to have dosed the patients with paradehyde in the evenings to ease the load.
The Males
The majority of male patients within the asylum system before the first world war were often poor and without spouses to look after them. After WWI, ‘Shell Shock’ was a prevalent condition among men admitted to the Asylums. At the time of this condition being diagnosed it cause controversy due to the condition being similar to the female psychosis. Alcoholism and the delusion related with it were also common reasons for certification. Unlike the female sides of the asylums, the male sides were smaller in numbers. Escape was more common with male patients than females; but due to the smaller numbers of males in some hospitals it was noted that they had a more stable time within the ward. The males wards had the same daily schedule as the female wards and instead of being involved with the laundry and needle rooms, they worked the kitchen and the bakehouse. They were also involved in the daily housekeeping of the wards. Other than the difference in activities the male wards were normally run with a stricter discipline; which most of the patients would have been used to given their backgrounds within the military. The male population of the Asylums received a wider range of activities for their recovery; they were allowed to join sports teams and the hospital band (if there was one); there were also inter-hospital leagues fort hem to compete in. Rational patients were also employed on working the farms and the upkeep of the grounds and gardens; they were also employed in various workshops and engineering practices. One such example is an account from Severalls of a male patients were used to lay 2-inch piping to the cricket ground, and build a band stand.
What were the treatments that were used?
The treatments used throughout the history of the Asylums have varied massively. When the Asylums first opened, there was little knowledge of the psychiatric conditions or how to treat them. The lunatics were kept calm and occupied as much as possible, and when the need arouse then restraint was employed. The first therapy that was employed throughout the Asylum system was the treatment of General Paralysis of the Insane, caused by Syphilis, with Malaria infected mosquitoes. This treatment was used through until the 1950’s when a new drug was developed. The next treatment that was developed was the Deep Insulin Therapy, where it was believed that Schizophrenia was caused by a high blood sugar in the brain. Insulin would be administered until the body went into shock and then the patient was revived with a sugary dose of tea. In the 1930’s, two major treatments were developed in Europe, these were the Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and the Lobotomy. Both these treatments involved stresses to the brain. ECT involved passing a current through the brain and induce an epileptic fit, which was known to cause injury to the patient. ECT proved to be very effective for patients suffering with depression and still used in very rare cases today. The lobotomy involved cutting the brain tissue within the frontal lobes of the brain. This had mixed results and was discontinued in the 50’s. The big breakthrough in the psychiatric treatments was the introduction of drugs to the Asylum system. The first drug to be used, discovered by a French Naval Surgeon was (Largactil) and was the first antipsychotic to be developed and it had a huge impact on the condition of patients. This development led to the rapid introduction of drugs within the psychiatric world. The next large development was talking through patients problems, and occupational therapy.
Were mechanical restraints used?
In short, yes. Before the advent of drugs and other treatments, manic, aggressive and suicidal patients were dealt with through restraint. Padded cell were also used to house patients who were self harming, or violent towards other (see our padded cell section). The most common restraints were the “straight jacket” and fingerless gloves. Both of these inhibited the movement of the patient. Less common forms were the used of continuous baths – patients were placed in a warm bath and a sheet affixed over the top, with their head and shoulders coming through it – and bed restraints. In the early years of the Asylums, restraints were common place, and their used recorded. After the 1890 Act, the use of restraints was severely limited and had to be approved by a medical officer and each use recorded.
Why did they close?
They had become to large, unwieldy and the system had opened itself up to abuse. In 1961 the Minister of Health, Enoch Powell was invited to speak at the AGM of the National Association for Mental Health. In his speech he announced that it the government of the day intended to “the elimination of by far the greater part of the country’s mental hospitals.” At the same time, regional boards were asked to “ensure that no more money than necessary is spent on upgrading and reconditioning”. This announcement had stunned the medical professions as there had been no indication that the government was going to head in this direction; only a handful of experimental community care programmes existed around the country. It would take 25 years for these plans to take afoot and the closures to start. There were two reasons for the decline in the large institutions, the advancement in psychiatric treatment meant that a standard hospital was able to provide care to acute cases that required immediate attention, and the drugs available meant that patients did not need twenty-four hour care. This meant that the traditional asylum was left with fewer long term patients to care for – patient numbers reduced from over 150,00 in 1950 to 80,000 in 1975. The second reason for the closure of the mental hospitals was the passing of the Mental Health Act 1983 – this saw the people being committed to the large asylums being given back their full rights and having the ability to appeal their certification; it also saw the mentally deficient being moved back into the community under the care in community projects. The first hospital to close due to the shift in medical treatment and public perception was Banstead Hospital in 1986, others followed suit over the next twenty years, with only a handful remaining open today. The medical staff at many hospitals still keep in contact with their old patients to make sure that the arrangements are working for them. The hospitals themselves either stand empty and derelict, or have been demolished and converted to cheap affordable housing, with only a few reminders to the residents of the previous history there. The Victorian Asylums are now a long forgotten memory, however in a recent NHS study, they have found that people suffering from mental illnesses recover when they are in a safe environment and are involved in their treatment, rather than being allowed to fend for themselves. In speaking with a number of retired nurses who had worked within the system, they were unsure as to whether the mass closures and the entire move to the care in the community method was the right one. One even felt that the number of hospital that closed shouldn’t have been so high, with a few being kept as regional specialists that could provide a more comprehensive support system. At the grounds of Horton Hospital, two of the old villas have recently been refurbished to act as a care home for the mentally ill.
HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL AND THROUGH OUR BUSINESS FACEBOOK WE TRY AND PROVIDE A BALANCED AND EDUCATIONAL INTERACTIVE INSIGHT INTO WHAT MANY DEEM TO BE TABOO SUBJECT MATTERS THAT OUR BRITISH GOVERNMENTS FAIL TO RECOGNISE AS BEING A PART OF OUR CULTURAL HISTORY ….. IT HAPPENED HERE IN BRITAIN DURING THIS TIME AND CONTINUES TO DO SO ON A LESSER SCALE TODAY
PLEASE DO BE AWARE THAT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , IT’S OWNER , OR ANY OF IT’S STAFF HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL HAVE NO AFFILIATION , CONNECTION OR INVOLVEMENT WITH ANY EXTREMIST , POLITICALLY MOTIVATED OR OTHERWISE MOVEMENTS WHATSOEVER …… WE SIMPLY EXHIBIT AND TOUCH UPON A GREAT MANY POLITICALLY INCORRECT AND TABOO SUBJECT MATTERS THAT NO OTHER VISITOR ATTRACTIONS DARE COVER IN THE WAY WE CHOOSE TO DO HERE. …. “IT’S ALL HISTORY FOR GOODNESS SAKE”….EVEN IF ON OCCASIONS, SENSITIVE , THOUGHT PROVOKING SUBJECT MATTERS THAT INCITE STRONG DEBATE .
BELOW IS UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL SPEECHES OF ALL TIME BY A BRITISH MP ENOCH POWELL …. THE ” RIVERS OF BLOOD SPEECH “
The National Front (NF) is a far right, racial nationalist, whites-only[4]political party whose heyday was the 1970s.[5] Its electoral support peaked in the1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes (0.6% of the overall vote).
The British prison service and police services forbid their employees to be members of the party.[6]
The party accounts submitted to the Electoral Commission in 2007 detailed national profitability.[7] It put up 17 candidates in the 2010 general election and 18 candidates for the 2010 local elections. The party failed to gain any representation at either national or local level.
The National Front have been described as fascist[8][2][9] and neo-fascist.[3] In his book, The New Fascists, Wilkinson, comparing the NF to the Italian Social Movement (MSI), comments on their neo-fascist nature and neo-Nazi ideals:[edit]Policies
“The only other case among the western democracies of a neo-fascist movement making some progress towards creating an effective mass party with at least a chance of winning some leverage, is the National Front (NF) in Britain. It is interesting that the NF, like the MSI, has tried to develop a ‘two-track’ strategy. On the one hand it follows an opportunistic policy of attempting to present itself as a respectable political party appealing by argument and peaceful persuasion for the support of the British electorate. On the other, its leadership is deeply imbued with Nazi ideas, and though they try to play down their past affiliations with more blatantly Nazi movements, such as Colin Jordan’s National Socialist Movement, they covertly maintain intimate connections with small neo-Nazi cells in Britain and abroad, because all their beliefs and motives make this not only tactically expedient but effective.”[3]
The National Front also stand against immigration into the United Kingdom and would introduce a policy of compulsory repatriation of all those of non-European descent as well as closing the borders to all further immigration. The party claims to stand against “American imperialism“, and would withdraw from NATO and the European Union. The party supports the use of capital punishment for crimes of murder, rape, paedophilia and terrorism. It would reintroduce Section 28, and support the recriminalization of homosexuality. The party adopts a strongly pro-life stance, describing abortion as a “crime against humanity” and would repeal the 1967 Abortion Act. The NF claims to oppose all economic and cultural imperialism: “Nations should be free to determine their own political systems, their own economic systems and to develop their own culture.”[12] Its constitution expresses the fact that it is led by a National Directorate rather than a chairman. Section 2 says: “The National Front consists of a confederation of branches co-ordinated by a National Directorate. Additionally a Central Tribunal appointed by the National Directorate is responsible for acting as a final court of appeal in internal disciplinary matters and for acting as a disciplinary tribunal for cases brought directly against individual party members by the National Directorate.”[13] It claims that its skinhead image is a thing of the past.[14]
The party is critical of the historical accuracy of the Holocaust, and is inclined towards historical revisionism, but claims that it has no official view about it and defends the right of free speech for any historian of the subject.[14] In recent years the party has been in conflict with the British National Party over such issues as the BNP’s attempts to present itself with a more moderate image. The party has described the BNP as part of a “Zionist Occupation Government“. The NF’s former national chairman, Tom Holmes, condemned the BNP as no longer being a white nationalist party for having aSikh columnist in their party newspaper.[15]
A move towards unity on the far right had been growing during the 1960s as groups worked more closely together. Impetus was provided by the 1966 general election when a moderate Conservative Party was defeated and A. K. Chesterton, a cousin of the novelist G. K. Chesterton and leader of the League of Empire Loyalists (LEL), argued that a patriotic and racialist right wing party would have won the election.[16] Acting on a suggestion by John Tyndall, Chesterton opened talks with the 1960s incarnation of the British National Party (who had already been discussing a possible deal with the new National Democratic Party) and agreed a merger with them, with the BNP’s Philip Maxwell addressing the LEL conference in October 1966.[17] A portion of the Racial Preservation Society led by Robin Beauclair also agreed to participate (although the remainder threw in their lot with the NDP, its house political party under David Brown) and so the NF was founded on February 7, 1967.[18]
The National Front grew during the 1970s and had between 16,000 and 20,000 members by 1974, and 50 local branches.[20] Its electoral base largely consisted of blue-collar workers and the self-employed who resented immigrant competition in the labour market or simply the appearance of immigrants. The Conservatives came particularly from the Conservative Monday Club group within the Conservative Party that had been founded in hostile reaction to Harold Macmillan‘s “Wind Of Change” speech. The NF fought on a platform of opposition to communism and liberalism, support for Ulster loyalism, opposition to the European Economic Community, and the compulsory repatriation of new Commonwealth immigrants who had entered Britain legally courtesy of the British Nationality Act, 1948.[21][22]
National Front march in Yorkshire, 1970s.
A common sight in England in the 1970s, the NF was well-known for its street demonstrations, particularly in London, where it often faced anti-fascistprotestors from opposing left-wing groups, including the International Marxist Group and the International Socialists (later the Socialist Workers Party). Opponents of the National Front claimed it to be a neo-fascist organization, and its activities were opposed by anti-racist groups such as Searchlight. The NF was led at first by Chesterton, who left under a cloud after half of the directorate (led by the NF’s major financer, Gordon Marshall) moved a vote of no confidence in him. He was replaced in 1970 by the party’s office manager John O’Brien, a former Conservative and supporter of Enoch Powell. O’Brien, however, left when he realised the NF’s leadership functions were being systematically taken over by the former Greater Britain Movement members, in order to ensure the party was really being run by John Tyndall and his deputy Martin Webster.[23] O’Brien and the NF’s treasurer Clare McDonald led a small group of supporters into John Davis’ National Independence Party, and the leadership of the National Front passed to Tyndall and Webster.
Between 1973 and 1976 the National Front performed better in local elections, as well as in several parliamentary by-elections, than in general elections. No parliamentary candidates ever won a seat, but the party saved its deposit on one occasion.[24][25]
A Canadian organisation was also set up (National Front of Canada) but it failed to take off.[28]
Already by 1974, the ITVdocumentaryThis Week exposed the neo-Nazi pasts (and continued links with Nazis from other countries) of Tyndall and Webster. This resulted in a stormy annual conference two weeks later, where Tyndall was booed with chants of “Nazi! Nazi!” when he tried to make his speech. This led to the leadership being passed to the populistJohn Kingsley Read. A stand-off between Read and his supporters (such as Roy Painter and Denis Pirie) and Tyndall and Webster followed, leading to a temporary stand-still in NF growth. Before long Read and his supporters seceded and Tyndall returned as leader. Read formed the short-lived National Party, which won two council seats in Blackburn in 1976.[29]
A National Front march through central London on 15 June 1974 led to a 21-year-old man, Kevin Gately, being killed and dozens more people (including 39 police officers) being injured, in clashes between the party’s supporters and members of ‘anti-fascist’ organisations.[30]
The National Front was also opposed to British membership of the European Economic Community, which began on 1 January 1973. On 25 March 1975, some 400 NF supporters demonstrated acrossLondon in protest against EEC membership, mostly in the Islington area of the capital.[31]
During 1976 the movement’s fortunes improved, and the NF had up to 14,000 paid members.[20] A campaign was launched in support of Robert Relf, who had been jailed for refusing to remove a sign from outside his home declaring that it was for sale only to English buyers. In the May local election the NF’s best result was in Leicester, where 48 candidates won 14,566 votes, nearly 20% of the total vote.[32] By June, the party’s growth rate was its highest ever. In the May 1977 Greater London Council election, 119,060 votes were cast in favour of the NF and the Liberals were beaten in 33 out of 92 constituencies.[33]
A police ban on an NF march through Hyde in October 1977 was defied by Martin Webster, who separately marched alone carrying a Union Jack and a sign reading “Defend British Free Speech from Red Terrorism”, surrounded by an estimated 2,500 police and onlookers. He was allowed to march, as ‘one man’ did not constitute a breaking of the ban. The tactic split the Anti-Nazi League in two and made a farce of the ban[citation needed] whilst attracting more media publicity for the Front.[34][dead link][35][36][unreliable source?][37]
If anything epitomised the NF under Tyndall and Webster it was the events of August 1977, when a large NF march went through the largely non-white area of Lewisham in South East London under an inflammatory slogan claiming that 85% of muggers were black whilst 85% of their victims were white.[38] As the NF was then contesting the Birmingham Ladywood by-election, such a large march elsewhere was construed by some as an attempt to provoke trouble. 270 policemen were injured (56 hospitalised) and over 200 marchers were injured (78 hospitalised), while an attempt was made by rioters to destroy the local police station.[39] The march saw the first use of riot shields in the UK outside Northern Ireland. The event is often referred to by ‘anti-fascists’ as the Battle of Lewisham in allusion to the earlier Battle of Cable Street against Oswald Mosley[original research?]. In fact, many of those who took part in the riot that day were not members of any ‘anti-fascist’ or ‘anti-racist’ group, but local youths (both black and white).[40]
At the same time, Margaret Thatcher as opposition leader was moving the Tory party back to the right and away from the moderate Heathite stance which had caused some Conservatives to join the NF. Many ex-Tories returned to the fold from the NF or its myriad splinter groups, in particular after her “swamping” remarks on the ITV documentary series World In Action on 30 January 1978:
“… we do not talk about it [immigration] perhaps as much as we should. In my view, that is one thing that is driving some people to the National Front. They do not agree with the objectives of the National Front, but they say that at least they are talking about some of the problems…. If we do not want people to go to extremes… we must show that we are prepared to deal with it. We are a British nation with British characteristics.”[41]
Also Tyndall insisted on using party funds to nominate extra candidates so that the NF would be standing in 303 seats. This was in order to give the impression of growing strength. However, it brought the party to the verge of bankruptcy when all of the deposits were lost. Most candidates were candidates in name only, and did no electioneering.[citation needed].
National Front deputy leader Martin Webster claimed two decades later that the activities of the Anti-Nazi League played a key part in the NF’s collapse at the end of the 1970s, but this claim seems counter-intuitive, for the Anti-Nazi League collapsed early in 1979 amid claims of financial impropriety, with former celebrity supporters such as Brian Clough disowning the organisation. Furthermore, the NF stood their largest number of parliamentary candidates at the 1979 general election only a few months later, and met with far less opposition than in previous elections.[citation needed].
Most damning of all, a full set of minutes of National Front Directorate meetings from late 1979 to the 1986 “Third Way” versus “Flag Group” split, deposited by former NF leader Patrick Harrington in the library of the University of Southampton, revealed that during the party’s post-1979 wilderness years they were in the habit of “tipping off the reds” in the hope of giving their activities greater credibility with the public, through being attended by hordes of angry protestors. This fact was later confirmed by MI5 mole Andy Carmichael, who was West Midlands Regional Organiser for the NF during the 1990s.[42]
Tyndall’s leadership was challenged by Andrew Fountaine after the 1979 debacle. Although Tyndall saw off the challenge, Fountaine and his followers split from the party to form the NF Constitutional Movement. The influential Leicester branch of the NF also split around this time, leading to the formation of the short lived British Democratic Party. In the face of these splits, the party’s Directorate voted to oust Tyndall as Chairman after he had demanded even more powers. He was replaced by Andrew Brons: but the ‘power behind the throne’ was Martin Webster who, somewhat surprisingly, had supported his old ally’s deposition. After failing to win title to the National Front name in the courts, Tyndall went on eventually to form the British National Party.
The party rapidly declined during the 1980s, although it retained some support in the West Midlands and in parts of London (usually centred around Terry Blackham).[43]
The party effectively split into two halves during the 1980s, after it had expelled Martin Webster and his partner Peter Salt. On one side were the Political Soldier ideas of young radicals such as Nick Griffin, Patrick Harrington, Phil Andrews and Derek Holland, who were known as the Official National Front. They had little interest in contesting elections, preferring a ‘revolutionary’ strategy.[44]
The opposition NF Flag Group contained the traditionalists such as Andrew Brons, Ian Anderson, Martin Wingfield, Tina Wingfield, Joe Pearce (initially associated with the Political Soldiers’ faction) and Steve Brady, who ran candidates under the NF banner in the 1987 general election. The Flag Group did some ideological work of their own, and the ideas of Social Credit and Distributism were popular, but the chief preoccupation was still race relations.[45] Some hoped that having two parties within one might help to save the NF from oblivion after 1979. The phrase “Let a thousand initiatives bloom” was coined (meaning that internal diversity should be tolerated) in the hope of re-capturing support, but clashes occurred nevertheless. In the 1989 Vauxhall by-election, Harrington stood as the Official National Front candidate against Ted Budden for the Flag NF, both sides cat-calling at one another during the declaration of the result[citation needed]. By 1990, the Political Soldiers had fallen out with one another, splintering into Griffin’s International Third Position (ITP) and Harrington’s Third Way, leaving the Flag Group under Anderson and Wingfield to continue alone. Griffin’s pamphlet “Attempted Murder”[46] gives a very colourful – if biased and somewhat bitter – overview of this period of the NF’s history.
Around this time, the ‘official’ NF lost much of its traditional English support as a result of its support for black radicals such as Louis Farrakhan.[47] The former supporters either moved to the British National Party (BNP), the rapidly declining British Movement, or to the White Noiseumbrella groupBlood and Honour. Griffin and Holland tried to enlist the financial aid of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, but the idea was rejected once the Libyans found out about the NF’s reputation as fascist (a quarter of Libya’s adult male population was killed by Benito Mussolini‘s troops during World War II).[48]However, the NF received 5,000 copies of Gaddafi’s Green Book, which influenced Andrews to leave the NF to form the Isleworth Community Group, the first of several grass roots groups in English local elections, whereby nominally independent candidates stood under a collective flag of convenience to appear more attractive to voters.[49][50]
An estimate of membership of the National Front in 1989 put adherents of the Flag Group at about 3,000 and of the ‘Political Soldier’ faction at about 600, with a number in between embracing Griffin’sThird Position ideas.[44] Griffin’s own estimate, as stated in a TV documentary first broadcast in 1999, was that in 1990 his International Third Position had fifty to sixty supporters, while Harrington’s Third Way had about a dozen.
In the 1990s, the NF declined as the BNP began to grow. As a result of this, Ian Anderson decided to change the party name and in 1995 re-launched it as the National Democrats. The move proved unpopular. Over half of the members continued with the NF under the reluctant leadership of previous deputy leader John McAuley. He later passed the job on to Tom Holmes. The National Democrats continued to publish the old NF newspaper The Flag for a while. The NF launched a new paper, The Flame, which is still published irregularly.
There has been a re-positioning of the NF’s policy on marches and demonstrations since the expulsion from the party in 2007 of Terry Blackham, the former National Activities Organiser. These have been reduced in favour of electoral campaigning. In January 2010, Tom Holmes resigned the leadership and handed over to Ian Edward.[51]
In February 2010, when the BNP had to change its constitution to allow non-whites into the party because of a High Court decision, the NF claimed to have received over 1000 membership enquiries from BNP members and said that local BNP branches in Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire had discussed switching over to them.[52] Prominent BNP dissidents Chris Jackson and Michael Easter joined the NF in the latter half of 2009[citation needed] while, more recently, the veteran nationalists Richard Edmonds and Tess Culnane have both rejoined the party.
On 14 September 2010, the NF publicity officer, Tom Linden, shared a debate with the Social Democratic and Labour PartyMLA, John Dallat, on BBC Radio Foyle about the support the NF had in Coleraine. This gave the NF a chance to air its views, which resulted in the NF Coleraine organiser, Mark Brown, thanking John Dallat for helping the NF double its support in Coleraine through enquiries and membership.[53]
The National Front has contested local elections since the late 1960s, but only did particularly well in them from 1973, polling as high as 15%. It never won a seat, however.[54] In the 1976 local elections the NF notably polled 27.5% of the vote in Sandwell, West Midlands, as well as over 10,000 votes in some councils.[55][56] The May 1976 local election results were the most impressive for the National Front, with the jewel in the crown being Leicester, where 48 candidates won 14,566 votes, nearly 20% of the total. However, after 1977 the NF vote-share ceased growing and by 1979 had begun to decline.[57]
During the 1980s and early 1990s the National Front only fielded a handful of candidates for local elections, but it has increased this to 19 since 2010.[33]
Although the National Front has never won a council seat in an election, it did gain a seat on 3 May 2007 when candidate Simon Deacon was elected unopposed to MarkyateParish council, near St Albans (there were ten vacancies but only nine candidates). However, Cllr Deacon soon defected to the British National Party, after becoming disillusioned with the direction of the NF.[58]
In March 2010 the NF gained its first ever councillor in Rotherham: John Gamble, who was originally in the BNP and then the England First Party (EFP).[59] However, not long afterwards he was expelled. Later the same year, a parish councillor from Harrogate, Sam Clayton, defected from the BNP to the NF.[60] However, on 29 November 2010, it was revealed that Clayton had resigned as parish councillor for Bilton in Ainsty with Bickerton ward.[61] As of mid-2011 the National Front had one councillor, who represented Langley Hill Ward on Langley Parish Council.[62] However, in September 2011 it lost its councillor after they failed to complete the necessary paper-work.[63]
In the 2008 London Assembly election held on 1 May, the National Front stood five candidates, saving two deposits – Paul Winnett of the NF polled 11,288 votes (5.56% of those cast) in the Bexley and Bromley constituency. In the Greenwich and Lewisham constituency, Tess Culnane polled 8,509 votes (5.79% of those cast) coming ahead of the UK Independence Party.
The National Front has contested general elections since 1970.
The NF’s most significant success in a parliamentary by-election was in the 1973 West Bromwich by-election: the NF candidate finished third on a high 16%, and saved his deposit for the only time in NF by-election history. This result was largely due to the candidate Martin Webster‘s own adopted ‘chummy’ persona for the campaign as “Big Mart”.
In the 1979 general election the National Front fielded a record 303 candidates, polling 191,719 votes but saving no deposits. This plunged the party into financial difficulties. This is considered to be a major factor in the decline of the NF.[by whom?]
The National Front fielded 60 candidates in the 1983 general election and received 27,065 votes. It saved no deposits, the average vote being less than 1% in each contested constituency. In 1987, the NF was split and only stood one candidate, in Bristol East, polling 286 votes (0.6%).
Since 1992, the National Front has never fielded more than nineteen candidates in a British general election (as few as five in 2001). None has saved their deposit, with their average percentage share of the vote being around 1%. However, in Rochdale during the 2010 general election, the NF candidate, Chris Jackson, polled 4.9% (2,236 votes), coming within a whisker of saving his deposit.[64]
The National Front stood for the first time ever in the Scottish Parliament general election, 2011, fielding six candidates – one for the North East region and five for the constituencies.[65] It gained 1,515 votes (0.08%) for the constituencies nationwide and 640 votes (0.2%) for the North East region. It failed to win any seats or save any deposits.
Combat 18 (C18) is a violent neo-Nazi organisation associated with Blood and Honour. It originated in the United Kingdom, but has since spread to other countries. Members of Combat 18 have been suspected in numerous deaths of immigrants, non-whites, and other C18 members.[citation needed] The 18 in its name is derived from the initials of Adolf Hitler: A and H are the first and eighth letters of the Latin alphabet. Combat 18 members are barred from joining theBritish Prison Service[1] and police.[2]
Combat 18 was formed in early 1992 by Charlie Sargent.[3] C18 soon attracted national attention for threats of violence against immigrants, members of ethnic minorities and leftists.[4] In 1992, it started publishing Redwatch magazine, which contained photographs, names and addresses of political opponents. Combat 18 is an openly neo-Nazi group that is devoted to violence and is hostile to electoral politics, and for this reason Sargent split decisively from the BNP in 1993.[5]
Sargent had split with his former C18 colleagues over allegations that he was an informer for British security services. The rival faction, led by Wilf “The Beast” Browning wanted Sargent to return to them the C18 membership list, for which they were to return his plastering tools and £1,000. However such was the animosity and fear between them that a mutually acceptable go-between, 28 year-old C18 member, “Catford Chris” Castle, was driven to Sargent’s mobile home in Harlow, Essex, by Browning, who waited in the car, whilst Castle went to visit Sargent. He was met at the door by Charlie Sargent and his political associate, Martin Cross. Cross plunged a nine-inch (22 cm) blade into Castle’s back. Browning took Castle to hospital in a taxi, but doctors were unable to save him and he died shortly after arriving in hospital.
Despite his attempting to implicate Browning, Sargent was convicted of murder at ChelmsfordCrown Court the following year. He and Cross were sentenced to life imprisonment and remain in prison to this day.[6]
Between 1998 and 2000, dozens of Combat 18 members in the UK were arrested on various charges during dawn raids by the police. These raids were part of several operations conducted by Scotland Yard in co-operation with MI5. Those arrested included Steve Sargent (brother of Charlie Sargent), David Myatt and two serving British soldiers, Darren Theron (Parachute Regiment) and Carl Wilson.[7]One of those whose house was raided was Adrian Marsden, who later became a councillor for the British National Party (BNP).[8] Several of those arrested were later imprisoned, including Andrew Frain (seven years) and Jason Marriner (six years).
Some journalists believed that the White Wolves are a C18 splinter group, alleging that the group had been set up by Del O’Connor, the former second-in-command of C18 and member of SkrewdriverSecurity.[9] The document issued by the White Wolves announcing their formation has been attributed to David Myatt, whose Practical Guide to Aryan Revolution allegedly inspired nailbomber David Copeland, who was jailed for life in 2000 after being found guilty of causing a series of bombings in April 1999 that killed three people and injured many others.
A group calling itself the Racial Volunteer Force split from C18 in 2002, although it has retained close links to its parent organization.[10] On October 28, 2003, German police officers conducted raids on 50 properties in Kiel and Flensburg that were believed to be linked to German supporters of the group.[11] The Anti-Defamation League says there are Combat 18 chapters in Illinois, Florida andTexas.[12] On 6 September 2006, the Belgian police arrested 20 members of Combat 18 Flanders. Fourteen of them were soldiers in the Belgian army. In July 2008, C18 was painted on St. Mary’s Oratory in County Londonderry.[13] In November 2008, BNP chairman Nick Griffin claimed that C18 was an “effectively fictitious” and “police-run” organisation.[14]
Racist attacks on immigrants continue from members of C18.[16] Weapons, ammunition and explosives have been seized by police in the UK and almost every country in which C18 is active.
In late 2010 five members of Combat 18 Australia were charged over an attack on a Mosque in Perth, Western Australia. Several rounds were fired from a high powered rifle into the dome of the Canning Turkish Islamic Mosque, causing over $15,000 damage.
Members of the organisation include known football hooligans. The most high profile incident involving Combat 18 members in football came on 15 February 1995, when violence broke out in the stands at Lansdowne Road in the international friendly between the Republic of Ireland and England. There was also sectarian motivated taunting of “No Surrender To The IRA” aimed at Irish fans.[17]
THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION .... HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK 
